Something's Stirring
by Erin A. Lasgalen
Summary: In which The Red Haired Pirates read the newspaper and have a grand party. God Usopp? Part 4: What's a father to two lost boys? Part 5: Sabo watches Ace's execution. SHORT STORIES! Spoiler Alert! Family/Friendship featuring ASL, Shanks, Yasopp, Whitebeard, Roger, Dragon, Garp and others.
1. Something's Stirring 1

Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece, nor do I want to.

* * *

**Something's Stirring**

Location: Somewhere in the New World

Object: Red Haired Pirates

Timeline: A week after the whole Dressrosa incident.

As the newspaper flew towards the ship, the slightly tipsy Capitan grinned widely and raised his remaining hand to catch it.

"Something's stirring….stirring something is…", he hummed and flipped the pages lazily.

"Yeah, tonight's soup…", came the voice of Lucky Roux, the cook of the crew and incidentally, the one who ate most. Though, he couldn't rival a certain seven year old back in Foosha…the kid was a bottomless pit! And Roux needed his revenge when they met.

Ben rolled his eyes and peered over his Capitan's shoulder to read.

"Oy, oy…."

Slowly Shank's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose so high that there was a risk of them disappearing into his hair. After rereading whatever it was written in the newspaper two more times, he broke down laughing uncontrollably.

The rest of the crew slowly gathered to see what their wayward leader had done. To their surprise, even the stoic Ben Beckman was smiling!

"What's going on!", demanded Yasopp as he climbed down from the Crow's Nest.

"Oooooh, you're going to love it!", cooed Shanks and threw the newspaper at the man who, frowning, caught it with ease and opened at a random page.

"What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Oh, you'll see."

Ben was smirking. Roux and the others who didn't know gathered around their sniper, who was flicking the pages for something significant.

And the demon duo (well at least Shanks) was anticipating the reaction that was going to be spectacular!

"Hm…oh, showdown in Dressrosa? The formed alliance between Straw Hat Luffy and the Surgeon of Death Trafalgar Law has made its move". He sneaked a peak at Shanks, who was smirking hugely.

Oukeeeey. Moving on.

"So Luffy beat the living shit out of old Doffy..not bad", he summarized, reading on. "Knowing that Law, they destroyed the factory you were telling us about, ne Capitan?"

Shanks was still smirking. What the hell was wrong? This wasn't the information he was looking for? Bleeeh.

"They probably got new bounties!", exclaimed Roux as he tried to pry the newspaper from Yasopp's hands.

The rest agreed. The sniped turned a few pages with a sigh and peered. Sure enough, new bounties.

"Oh, Luffy's increased! Not bad for a kid…Law too, since he's not a shichibukai after all the shit they pulled, hm? Sogeking's..identity revealed?"

"Stirr..tirring something up it is…"Shanks was smirking so hard now that a little bit more and his face would snap in two. "Stir stir…we'll do this like a …tirrr"

Yasopp winced at the singing and shook his head. Sogeking was revealed after the incident in Enies Lobby and he had been curious after that. Just who was the little brat's sniper? He had promised to get a crew stronger than theirs after all…

He took a swing of his sake and peered at the poster.

"Sogeking 'God' Usopp, 120k beri…"

Shanks started the countdown.

"Three…Two…One…BAM!"

Yasopp spit out his beer on the poster and stared at it bug eyed.

"Wha..wa…Usopp? My Usopp? My little boy that's supposed to be in Syrup Village with Bachina? Wait Sogeking? So he was with Luffy all this time!"

The Red Haired pirates witnessed their sniper having a breakdown.

And Shanks, Shanks was having the time of his life.

"Stir stirl..we will, love drill we fill…something's stirring in Yasoppuuu…". He crawled to where his sniper was still gawking at the poor wanted poster and slung his arm over his shoulder."You", a poke in the cheek, "… are DIVINE, my friend!", he announced to the shell shocked Yasopp, who was still clutching the wanted poster. "Something's…things stir…bir!"

"Huh?", came the unintelligent response.

"Well, since your son is 'God'…." Ben interjected with a smile.

They shared a hearty laugh.

"That's right! You all should worship the ground I walk on! Stupid imbeciles…and the father of 'God' demands…sake and food!

The day ended up with a grand party, singing, dancing, nearly ripping the poor newspaper to shreds, Yasopp telling everyone, again (which was a usual occurrence when he was drunk) of his son and their adventures, Roux wolfing down the meat, Ben polishing his guns…the usual. All, except their beloved Redhead.

Shanks was simply observing them, his family after the Roger pirates disbanded. He could see clearly that his sniper was proud of his son, even if worry for his safety was his first priority when it came to feelings. And he understood it completely. Luffy was the closest thing to a son he had and he was extremely proud of him.

"Dahahahaha! Little Anchooooor…hurry up and give me my hat baaaaaaa~ck brat!"

The new wanted poster of Straw Hat Luffy started back at him.

"Stirring….ring, something is in a biiing, stir, stir, bring me somethi-.."

"Capitan! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

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R&R :)

Bah, I just couldn't keep this idea off my mind after the recent chappie and the troll Oda pulled. xD Seriously, i am expecting for Usopp to have a new wanted poster! Fujitora will sure as hell see to it lol. And i bet his name will be 'God' Usopp too... xD

So yeah, I know it's not the best, I cant write humor :/ But hope whoever read this enjoyed it at least!

Thanks for your attention!


	2. Something's Stirring 2

**Something's stirring 2**

Location: On the way to Wano Kuni

Object: Strawhat pirates

Timeline: A week after the whole Dressrosa incident

"That's SUUUUUPEEEEEER Usopp-bro!" The typical underwear dance followed this proclamation of their enormous blue haired shipwright, complete with a grin and a thumbs up.

Luffy was laughing his stomach off on the deck of Thousand Sunny, literally rolling on the floor and laughing, for once his precious meat forgotten, which was nearly impossible, a fact proven by a certain swirly eyebrowed cook.

Zoro and the aforementioned cook, Sanji, as strange it was to see (possibly apocalyptic), seemed to agree on something for once –the reaction to this quite comical situation. They had the exact same expression on their faces –utter disbelief. Their loss of words for the moment and twin-like actions would have brought a new round of laughter if the others weren't too focused on someone else at the moment.

Robin had a small smile on her face, the one she always wore when the crew did something silly, after all she was the mature, grown up 'mellorine'. Still, this WAS absurd…

Nami's eye was twitching horribly and looked at the verge of thunderbolting the current object of attention, aka their sniper, who was _still _ gaping at the article in his hand. The last two members of their small crew, Chopper and Brook were both standing close to him, one staring in absolute adoration at his long nosed hero, and the other 'yohoho'-ing and telling everyone that he had a song coming up!

"SHISHISHISHIIII~ Ooooh, that Fujitoraaa….oh this is just epic!" hiccuped Luffy, hands around his middle. "..wonder if Torao knows!"

A fist connected with his head, sending him crashing to the deck in between mewls of 'Owwwww! and 'That huuuurt Naaaaa~miii!"

"This is NOT funny! Now we'll have more after us! Not to mention everyone got a bounty raise! Now we'll have admirals and vise admirals after us! And probably other pirate crews too…trying to prove themselves or rob us!". She slumped dejectedly on the floor, crying a river of the special tears dubbed 'money mellorine' by the capitan and their beloved cook. "Not to mention we are a really sorry excuse of pirates, we have no goooooold, don't rooob us! And how am I going to shop nooooow when everyone will be after me…", she wailed in despair.

Usopp however, still had a very hard time believing. And who wouldn't? How in the name of Oda was he supposed to know that his innocent lie back in Green Bit would bring to...well THIS! Like the whole '5 star and 500k beri from dear Doffy was not enough!

"Sogeking identity revealed…complete with a new bounty, 'Wanted dead or alive".

G..god Usopp' 120k beri."

Said 'GOD' reread this so many times that it was starting to sound like a mantra, and he continued even after Nami forcefully pulled the newspaper out of his hands.

A few seconds ticked by, everyone waited, still in the same positions they found themselves after a rather oblivious Luffy read the page related to his 'Dressroba' out loud to the others mere 15 minutes ago, when the seagull was gracious enough to drop them the daily news.

"Hehehehehe…", came a rather creepy laugh.

Zoro cringed. He had heard it once during the whole 'Condoriano' thing and it was not pleasant, Usopp looked like he wanted to dissect someone..or worse.

"I am 'GOD' obey me! I am the almighty one who hailed from an island of snipers…First I was named king there, but that changed! The island was attacked by evil underlings of the Great Shadow and I, the almighty Usopp-sama was called to protect my homeland! And protect I did, with everything I had! I declared war upon them, burning their symbol right in front of their empty pupil-less eyes and went into a rampage, shooting every single enemy around me with special anti-shadow powdered balls!"

"Sugoi, Usopp…" Stars literally sparkled from their little Chopper. Even Luffy was emitting them.

"Of course the battle left me hindered! But even sickness and wounds could not defeat me! I was named their 'GOD' after that, which just about explains the range of my abilities, but I can do more! I saved countless of princesses-.."

"All of them named Kaya..", deadpanned Zoro with a dead look.

Sanji blinked once, twice, then rounded on the swordsman.

"You mean shitty Usopp got action from a girl?! As in, a REAL WOMAN? "

Funny how his teeth tended to turn shark like whenever he had a 'conversation' with the first-mate, who, in his turn, snapped angrily at the blonde. This started their usual brawl, which ended a few seconds after, courtesy of their lovely demonic Nami-swan.

"-..from mighty dragons, scarfaced zombies, bad-breath trolls and red monkeys! And.."

"Am I the only one feeling an Enel Symdrome here?", pondered the navigator. The others who were there for the adventure in Skypea agreed. Franky mentally ticked off 'Enel' and 'Skypea' in his 'to be asked later during a feast' list.

Luffy just laughed. True, Usopp's bounty name was pretty funny, but he was happy for his friend. Now he would at least get recognition for his deeds. They really did have a great sniper who never missed a target. He deserved to be known, especially in the future pirate king's crew. (Though, it DID come as a little shock that Sogeking was their Usopp, especially for little Chopper. But Luffy, deep down, knew it was him, he just tended not to think of it at that time back in Enies Lobby. It was not the time to sort things out with a wayward crewmember who couldn't get his priorities straight when they had Robin to save.)

Fingering the rim of his precious hat, a thought struck him quite unexpectedly.

He pondered a bit and shook Usopps shoulder, effectively dragging him out of his storytelling.

"Ne, Usopp, now _everyone_ knows your name.."

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at their capitan. He was strangely serious.

Usopp however, was as confused as ever.

"Well, meaning _some_ people who actually look through the bounty posters will _know _who Sogeking is.."

An audible gulp was heard. Then at least, it dawned on their sniper as to WHAT his capitan was getting at.

"W..what if he…", he scratched his nose absentmindedly, voice cracking. For a moment he resembled nothing of their strong and keen eyed sniper, no he looked like the 7 year old little boy, who missed his mother greatly and wanted his father to come back and recognize him at last. "W..what do I do?"

"What do you mean what to do? Shishishi, we'll continue having our adventures, what else! And then one day, we'll meet up. And you'll think of what to do then, not now, silly Usopp! Ne ne, if he challenges you, you'll totally win! The crew of the future pirate king can't lose! I know one thing for sure, he'll be proud! You remember what I told you of him, right? He couldn't shut up about you, especially when drunk!"

Sanji leaned in and whispered to Nami. "What is Shitty capitan going on about?"

The navigator huffed. "Usopp's dad is from the Red Haired Pirates."

Those who didn't know this rounded on him. Usopp sat down on the deck and rubbed his nose. Time for a bit of family history.

"Well…He, he left when I was little, I don't even remember how he looks like, ehehehe! He was chasing adventure, the sea was calling him, plus mom said that she made him go, didn't want him living with regrets or something of the sort. At that time I didn't understand but now I do."

His smile was contagious and soon everyone was wearing it. Franky was crying his manly tears again and proclaiming his love.

"You did leave your precious Kaya-chan to have adventures at the sea too, ne Usopp!", laughed Nami, making Sanji drop his cigarette in shock.

"So Usopp really GOT action from a girl! My my, not bad, shitty long-nose!"

This caused a round of laughter, manly thumping on the back and a very red sniper who was ready to flee, away from the wriggling swirly eyebrow ,at least.

"Ne, ne, since both our crews are in the New World, they might give a den den call, you know! It would pass through. That would be awesome!"

The look on poor Usopp's face told everyone that it would NOT be awesome at all, but with a laugh (fake one per se) he waved his hand around. "They won't call for sure, I mean, they've got better things to do…r..right?"

His voice promptly died down as their den den mushi went off with a 'puru puru, puru puru'.

Usoop paled to a degree where he wouldn't even be considered a corpse. Everyone else threw a sidelong glance at him and crowded around the little snail, some with curiosity, some with dread.

Luffy picked it up.

"Mushi mushi, this is Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"

"Luffy-san! And Everyone!"

.

.

.

"VIVI!"

.

.

.

"Did the shitty capitan score our princess? And where was I when this tragedy happened!"

**Fin**

* * *

Oukeeeey, let me clarify a few things, I suppose. I decided to make this a drabble story, featuring our main 4 in different situations, some cannon some AU, some in the 'what-if' situations, you know, whatever comes to my mind. :)

There will be appearances by a lot of other characters, like Ace, Sabo, Dragon, Garp etc. We'll see where this goes. They will all be oneshots for sure, hope you like this idea, tell me what you think.

Other then that, review please, (all authors appreciate a review lol) um, suggestions and advices are very welcome.

Forgive typos, english is my third, and if i overlook something when rereading stuff before posting, tell me o~ good souls and thee shall be rewarded..

For this chapter, here are a few comments, in case you are confused.

I think that the bounties will get after they go to Zou (whatever will happen there). They did wait quite a week or so in Water 7 to get them + the new bounty for Luffy was issued a bit after the Croco incident. This is just my assumption, we'll see where the manga gets us, I might have to edit some parts after the arc is done lol.

And the Vivi part? Lets just say she got herself a special den den mushy that reaches long distances but could be used rarely or smth like that.

No pairing whatsoever.

The reason why Sanji (mellorine!) said the last line though , well, technically luffy...well i see him only with vivi so far, she's the best in age, one year younger then him, and well so far no one else quite fits with Luffy lol. This is just my opinion. There was no indication of anything between them in this chap so please don't freak out and flame me lol.


	3. Of Fathers and Sons 1

**Of Fathers and Sons**

Object: Strawhat Pirates (with additions)

Location: Grand Line, somewhere in the ocean

Timeline: Before Alabasta 'Save my kingdom' Dance

* * *

It was past midnight and Luffy was on watch, nestled comfortably in the Crows Nest of the Going Merry. The childish capitan was staring at the sky absently, counting the stars and making weird shapes in his (some say very simple and _only_ filled with meat) mind.

But he was not that much out of the world, as he felt his brother silently climb the rails like a leopard, which was why he turned to grin at the intruder just as the latter jumped down in a crouch, feral grin in place.

"Ace!"

Said freckled brother smirked and settled comfortably beside Luffy.

"Ne, ne Ace, tell me about this Whitebread ossan! I never really expected you to take orders from someone else!"

Ace playfully showed his brother away, slightly cringing.

"White_beard _not _bread_ moron." He left the second part of the accusation to be answered later. "Are you hungry or what?"

The glowing smile and the big bright eyes answered his question. Ignoring this with a well placed sweatdrop, the older of the two complied and went into a tale of life and death, friendships and adventures, love (for meat) and hate, describing in details his journey after he set sail from Dawn Island to the point where he joined the Whitebeard crew.

Luffy listened attentively, though, if his crew witnessed this, they'd say this was not their capitan, after all Monkey D. Luffy could NOT sit still even for a minute, let alone listen to something without falling asleep seconds later.

But this was Ace, his big brother, the one he looked up too. True, he would have fallen asleep, but kept his willpower string enough to resist the temptation. Who knew when he'd get to have a talk like this from his nii-chan again? It was..nice, just like old times.

Any onlooker would admit, the little Strawhat was a good listener, 'ooh'-ing and 'aah'-ing at the right places, whispering 'sugeeee na' and 'baka ka' at times when Ace told him of his battles and silly antiques, growling in places when his precious big brother was injured. All as if he practiced. (The constant fantastic tales from Usopp COULD be considered practice though)

When the older raven head got to the point in his story where he joined the Yonko, Luffy went silent.

"He, he became like a father to me, Lu. At first, I hated him and all his 'family' shit." He growled a bit, eyes getting shadowed by moonlight. "And I did try to take his head, loads of times. And I failed every single fucking time. But you know, after a talk with Marco-.."

"Marco?"

"Yeah, First division Commander, has an awesome Zoan ability, bastard can actually fly when transformed..well anyways, there was something he said that got to me, I started watching them, and realized I wanted it too. So I just accepted it. And you know what, I loved it! I'm never going to regret this! Whitebeard is a great pirate, great man! He gave me a family, he became a father to me when I detested the idea of fathers altogether because of that asshole. We're all like one big family out there, with lots of brothers and sisters."

Luffy winced a bit. He did not _want_ to feel replaced. He knew he wasn't, Ace wasn't that shallow. They were his nakama, his family. Ace had his adventure, he had his. This was his path…

Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Nami, hell even Vivi and Carue were his family too.

It was just the little fact that a 'sibling' bond, being 'brothers' was a tad bit deeper for him. The shared sake that day, was it really that meaningless that Ace went on and considered everyone a brother who became his friend?

And why was he dwelling on this? This was wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Ace must have felt something shift in the atmosphere around them. After staring hard at Luffy, who was looking anywhere but him, he gave a long dejected sigh and bumped him on the head promptly.

"Itaii!"

"Baka! Marco, Thatch, Izo and everyone on Moby Dick are my brothers, but the bond we have, you me..and Sabo, it's, it's uh….", he waved his right hand around trying to find the right word for it, all the while hoping that his oblivious 'Lu' didn't notice the slight quiver of his voice when he mentioned their dead brother."Um…ok how about this, remember the fish we used to catch back in Foosha when we were young? Well, my relationship with the guys is like the middle part! And our bond of sake is like the head!"

"Good, at least we aren't the tail!", grumbled Luffy, knowing full well that the yummy part of that particular fish was the middle, the tail sucked and was tasteless, but the head, the head was like the dessert, the yummiest treat in the feast. "Harahetta…"

Ace just laughed and gave his little brother a hug. Typical Luffy.

"Ne Lu, we got lucky somewhere in our lives ne? We both have people who have done more to have the title of 'father' then our real ones. Some weird star must have taken a liking to us, hehehe."

The shorter of the two snuggled closer to him and nodded.

"You got Whitebread-ossan ("BEARD! Not bread…"), and I have Shanks…demo Acee….to Shanks I'm probably just a random problem boy from the local bar, even if he did give his hat to me, I just impressed him with my.. um, dunno something! Plus he always said I'm a brat. And we talked like 3 or 4 times, or did anything fun for the matter…It's not enough to be considered a son, ne?"

Ace could literally hear the pleading in his voice. It made him sad.

"You dumbass! Even once is enough you know. Did I ever tell you how my meeting with Shanks went? All he did was ask of you..in between checking who I am and stuff! If anyone's a father, it's him."

_He adores you. But it's not my place to say, you'll get to hear it from him one day, ne?_

Luffy nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

Both siblings sat in content silence, watching a star fall down and each pondering on 'what's going to happen' type thoughts.

Somewhere across the red line, back in West Blue, where one of the small bases of the Revolutionaries was located, a young man could be found staring at the night sky, watching a peculiar star fall down with a smile.

"Whitebeard eh Ace...looks like you found your oyaji. Funny how Luffy was the first though. Akagami Shanks...I wouldn't mind seeing their reunion, that coming from all the stories the squirt told us ne? If we..no! _When_ we meet…we'll share tales of our adventures, all the while drinking sake, and then, then I'll tell you how I found someone to consider a father too…"

The morning found the two of the three huddled together in the Crows Nest of one Merry-go, while the third was woken rather abruptly from his nap on the windowsill with a sharp jab to his stomach by an angry brunette wielding a boken she had borrowed from one of the dojos.

**Finite:**

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Mou, I really don't want to update so fast lol, I really like to get reviews, but when something's stuck in my kind, I cant help it, i write lol.

Comments on this story? There will be a second part! (featuring Shankusuu and Whitebeard and maaaybe the musterious Sabo daddy!)

The brunette is Koala, just so you know. The 'brother' part well I dunno, kinda fit. I had this lil jealousy idea when i was writing this. It was not part of the plan at all, hope it doesn't ruin the story much. I tried to keep them in character as much as i could.

And the one who Sabo considers a father? Who wants to guess?

Review please and thanks for your um attention?


	4. Of Fathers and Sons 2

**Of Fathers and Sons**

Object: The fathers

Location: Too random, thus could be dubbed 'somewhere in the vast oceans of One Piece'

Timeline: 3 years before Luffy's adventure began.

* * *

He was not a person of hugs, no. To many, especially outsiders, he would seem like an unwavering mountain, standing tall and silent like a king. Only those close to him could see the twinkle in his eyes, the slight smile and the melancholy of his whole being when they shared adventures together, partook in boisterous banquets and fought side by side in battles of honor and dreams. He rarely ever showed any affection openly, and it was not needed. His sons and daughters already knew everything that was needed to know, they saw it in his actions, the subtle gestures that warmed their hearts.

But it all changed when he gained a very complicated son, his newest and the most troublesome nakama.

Portgas D. Ace.

Of course dealing with a D would be different. He had almost forgotten what it was like, for Teach was with him for a long time and had joined when the First Pirate King, his greatest friend (and he would not deny it, especially at his age), rival and a very stubborn D, Roger was just a youngster beginning his journey in East Blue. In fact, dealing with Teach was strangely too easy. The man did not behave like a D. At least, some of the traits were absent.

This boy-a, however, was a different story altogether!

He was the typical representation of the 'D' idiocy, pigheadedness, rashness, hotheadedness, gluttony (no one could rival _that _ pit of a stomach, at least on the Moby Dick) and narcolepsy. The latter, of course, was _very_ specific, but Roger himself was narcoleptic and so was that damned Garp. This was enough of a reason to fit narcolepsy in the typical 'D' symptoms.

Hell, if he counted all that, that idiot of a redhead might as well be a D too.

Still, aside from those traits, there were also the utmost dedication to a goal, a dream and to nakama, and the idiocy to do everything to protect his precious people.

Ace was a typical D, who was quite hard to deal with.

His curiosity towards this rookie grew starting from his first bounty in the Spade Pirates. He already liked the gaki. News reached him that the boy wanted to defeat him, so he gave him the chance. He arrived at the battlefield just in time to see his dear friend Jimbei and the young D fall on the ground, wearied from the battle to a degree where both could hardly stand.

He was no match for him, of course, but his dedication made him wonder more about this little enigma. He finally offered the boy to become his son and join his crew, along with his comerades.

And it took a lot of convincing. Exactly 4 months, 15 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes and 2 seconds, courtesy of count went to Izo.

Edward Newgate was not a man who openly displayed emotion, but for his newest son, the one who had a hard time accepting a 'father', he did. For the second time in his life, he opened up and poured all the love and joy in one simple gesture.

It was just a pat on the head and a ruffling of raven locks. Nothing more. But it was enough. And the shaking of his shoulders and the tears rolling freely down the freckled face were enough of a definition.

He had finally made the boy understand and accept.

He became his youngest son, the most troublesome, most annoying and the most eating brother to his siblings who came to adore him.

One could ask why would he, a Yonko with such a big family already offer someone who wanted to murder him a place to stay, a place to be loved and cared for. The answer was simple.

He could clearly see what the lost soul in the freckled young man craved, and he gave it to him wholeheartedly, for long ago, when he started his own journey, that was his wish as well, his dream which he came to realize years later.

His family.

A star had blessed him with sons and daughters, who accepted him for what he was as he accepted them. He could ask for no more. It was enough.

* * *

They had docked the ship into a small harbor, hidden from prying eyes. There was no need to frighten the villagers with their mere presence, after all, all they needed was to restock and move onwards to their next destination and possible encounter with the treacherous Kaidou.

The small island they discovered was nothing special, just one small village and a vast green forest, covering two thirds of the land. Some of the crew went adventuring into the leash green, some stayed to actually get the job done and get supplies, and someone, an incredibly lazy, somewhat drunk (when was he not?) redheaded someone, tagged along to give them a bumpy ride and scare off the friendly villagers.

"Capitan…gather your pretty redhead arse and go bother someone else!", grumbled Benn, who was carrying a bag and consequently, scowling at his friend and leader. Yasopp, who was looking around nodded absently, half listening to the conversation, nodded his curly blonde head.

"You guys are meaaaaan! Maybe I will go..and find a ladyy~ who will sing me a so-.."

Benn swiftly kicked him, sending him crashing headfirst into a wall.

The commotion made everyone around them stop and stare. A little more and they would be recognized as the infamous Red Haired Pirates. And the little disguise they were (forced) to wear by Benn wouldn't help matters much, even if it was just a simple long, white tunic over their clothing and a colorful cloth tied around their heads in the manner of the samurai in children's books.

The capitan grumbled something incoherent, got up shakily and was about to go into a yelling frenzy when he suddenly stopped himself. There, from the hole that was made in the wooden wall, a certain scene caught his eye.

Sharing a look, Benn and Yasopp walked closer and peered.

It was a simple street, like the one they were walking in. An in the middle of it stood a figure of a man, clearly in his thirties, laughing merrily, hands gripping the little figure that sat comfortably on his shoulders. The little figure was a boy, no more than 6 or 7 years old, gripping into the hair of his father and laughing just as merrily.

"They are probably on their way home, or to hunt some food, or to get flowers for the beautiful mother..", muttered Shanks in a strange voice.

Yasopp had no words, but for a moment his eyes held the longing of a child that had his dream taken away.

The child circled his little hands over his father's hair and plopped his head comfortably, loving his makeshift seat.

Benn could only sigh.

The reason for Yasopp's melancholy was understandable as it was sprouted during every fucking party they had from his drunken mouth.

Shanks however, was a different story.

He did not have a child of his own, but there was one little boy who held his heart and made him understand what it meant to care for someone, to have a child.

One Monkey D. Luffy.

An extreme representation of a 'D'.

And to Shanks, he was like the son he never had. He cared for the boy more so then his own life and dreams. But he couldn't play any role in the little boy's life, for he was an individual who grew up without knowing what 'family' and a 'father' meant. And the redhead wasn't around that much to fix it.

Now, it was late, the boy was fourteen and would soon set out to the sea, chasing his dreams, having his own adventures. Shanks had no place there anymore. And this made his heart clench.

His little Luffy probably considered Ace as his true family, his big brother who could easily been a father figure to him.

"I am probably just a random pirate ossan who just gave him some motivation to chase his dream, nothing moooo~re," he chanted dejectedly and let his first-mate drag him back. "He has Ace-chan, strong, fiery, with a hat! Why would he need meee~"

Yasopp snapped his fingers in front of his eyes, making him break the eye contact with the father-son duo.

"Ahou capitan! That boy adores ya. We have all seen it back then in Foosha, the two of ya are more of a family then me, Bachina and Usopp ever were.." The last part was said slower and with a frown.

A gloomy atmosphere settled around them and a raincloud could be seen hovering over the heads of the two idiot 'fathers'.

"Seriously, pull yourself together, both of you!", demanded Benn. "Yasopp, well all know how much you care for your family. Your son knows what kind of a man you are, and if I know Bachina, she would have told him many a tales, I am sure. And trust my judgment, he is probably waiting for a chance to set sail one day and meet you! And as for you," he rounded on his capitan, "Luffy adores you. Even those few times we were there, it was enough. You can say all you want, but I don't remember Ace even being mentioned back when we were in Foosha. It was not Ace there, it was you, _you_ who he always talked about, who he pestered for stories, you who he desperately clang to, you who made him realize his dream!"

The rest was left unsaid, but Shanks knew what was going to follow those words.

_It was you who held him when he cried, you who he confined in, you who comforted him and explained things a parent should. It was you, not his weird terrorist of a grandpa! Not Makino! Not the Mayor! No, it was you who gave him love and care, even for a few days! And you of all people should know it's enough!  
_

"Get your gears together and sober up a bit! A parent is not always the one who created them, it's the one who cares and protects them, who gives them love and understanding, who raises them into what they are," finished Benn with a small smile. Being the oldest and the wisest of the crew had its perks.

"I did NOT raise him Benny~, that's the probleeeeem~. But taking him with us when he was seven would be so irresponsible! I couldn't just do that, he'd be dead before we reached the next island! Mou…"

Benn smirked knowingly. Shanks was answering his own doubts now.

"It was irresponsible to leave the Gomu Gomu no Mi out in the open where a 7 year old could reach it too, ya know.." added Yasopp in a whisper.

"Stop your whining, capitan. And get a move on, we still have to get some food"

As they walked up the street, the first-mate added in the silence.

"A lucky star must shine upon you all, having a child look upon you like that is genuine happiness, cherish it, you two dolts."

.

.

.

"I really should go find a lady~ who'd listen to the..pre pri..pru...datory call of this po~or soul and let me wallop..whatever it is they usually wallop in-.."

WHACK!

"Ahou capitan..."

**Fin**

* * *

Um, clarifications and comments on the chap? Here goes.

Dragon will have his own little drabble soon, maybe i'll do a little Sabo drabble too, who knows. xD

I really should start doing a few AU lol

Ok, I'm definitely going to do a 'little Luffy and Shanks' story hehehe, maybe 2 or 3 o.o

About Shanks being a D..I just love that idea lol, but since here it's just Whitebeards stray thought, it's gona stay that way until (if ) Oda reveals it.

Right. That's that and no harm done.

Review please, they make me happy.

See you next update :

(the new manga chap is gona be out tomorrow, can't wait!)


	5. Precious Seconds

**Precious Seconds**

Object: Sabo

Location: Somewhere in North Blue

Timeline: Ace's Execution: Before, During and After

Time was such a strange phenomenon. When no one gave it any mind, it seeped through slowly, without a care in the world, and yet when it was desperately needed, it tended to disappear, hours flying by like seconds. Time…

When he found out, he already had no time, precious minutes, not just hours were ticking by and WHAT was he doing then? Why, why in the name of Kami did this have to happen?

Not two months ago he was sent on a mission to one of the remote islands in North Blue, quite close in likeness to the place where he was born and raised – the Goa Kingdom on Dawn Island. It was difficult, for the annoying witless worms of nobles and other trash had gathered there and formed their own 'cult' of some sort was not that easy to deal with. The royal family was gone by all means, with the only heir to the throne lost, presumed dead and the King and the Queen were accused for kinslaying and selling the young of the island to slave traders and pirates and other scum . The same year their son disappeared, they were shot openly in the main square. The whole country was one big mess, with children still disappearing, theft, rape and murder common on the streets and the 'cult' ruling all of it.

This was a very important quest, one that would unveil some mysteries that were the main concern of the Revolutionaries for the last few years. Dragon had a hunch that this had something to do with that cursed Donquixote Doflamingo and the main underground walker in New World, Kaidou. But they needed valid proof that would later show them the steps those two were taking.

This was the first serious operation that Sabo himself lead, without having any of the older members with him to guide him.

Yet, had he known what would happen, he would have stayed close to the main base. But alas, fate had different plans.

His mission was successful and he was soon back to one of the smaller bases in North Blue, closer to the Calm Belt. There, the news awaited him.

After a full report his fellow revolutionaries had set to eat fully, those who were with him on the damned island sure as hell needed it.

"Sabooo~ you should eat too," chided Koala, waving a plate of meat in front of his nose.

He refused with a small shrug, not really understanding himself. He WAS hungry, and yet, something was gnawing at his heart. He looked up at the clear blue sky with a frown. For such a light blue, it seemed red with blood in his eyes. Maybe he was tired? That was probably it. The queer feeling stayed.

Something was going to happen and he knew it with every fiber of his being. He grew nervous as they were called to the main meeting room of the base. They crawled inside. There were too many of them, thus a few had to make the walls as comfortable as they could, Sabo being one of them. He leaned on the eastern wall and stared ahead. There a small den-den mushi was perched upon the table, eyes open and ready to show them whatever it was meant to show.

Sabo theorized this was going to be a brief of some kind, though the sheer amount of people surprised him somewhat.

He had never been proven as wrong as that fateful day, where he was forced to observe the death of his brother.

The makeshift screen flickered and the first commentary began.

His shoulders grew tense. Dragon told them all will be explained in the commentary, and if the man left something out, he would fill them in later. It was starting.

As the image focused, time stopped for Sabo. His eyes widened and he paled to a degree where he could not even be considered a ghost.

As the vision progressed, he grew paler, if it were possible. His limbs started to shake in the effort of keeping him up. His mind was whirling a mile a minute, trying to understand how this came to be, how his precious brother, his Ace was _captured,_ why in the world was this happening and most of all, where was HE when his brother needed him? Was it fated for him to go on his mission, never knowing what was going on in the world around him just to come back and see his brother die?

As secrets were revealed, the reactions of the onlookers rose to an uproar. The room was getting noisy. Yet there was one person watching Sabo just as closely as he was watching the screen. Nothing missed Dragon's keen eyes.

When Ace was freed from the grasp of the marines, Sabo did not rejoice like everyone else did, no. Something was going to happen and the feeling in the pit of his stomach was making him hurl. Why was he not there, helping? Why wasn't he supporting his exhausted and badly beaten little brother in this mission to save his brother? Why was he not there with him when he raided Impel Down? Many may have missed it, but he could plainly see, Luffy was pushing his body way beyond the limits. He could guess that Iva-san had something to do with it, he had felt those hormones on him once and it was a hellish experience. Luffy looked like he'd gone through a triple harmonic operation and it was all making him barely stand on his feet.

Why was he not there to help? His hands shakily rose up to his hair and gripped tightly.

Akainu.

His eyes widened in horror as he witnessed something he was quite used to when they were kids.

The flare of Ace's anger.

The blazing hatred and determination.

"No…," he wailed, choking on his saliva as his wide eyes followed the procession on the screen. "Ace..no, listen..listen to Luffy please.."

His mumbles were barely coherent. No one heard them as precious seconds ticked by, not even he, as he was too engrossed to notice anything physical or indeed related to this room at that moment.

He did not miss any of it. Not the words uttered by the cursed marine, not the fact that he was aiming at their little Lu, not that Lu's body had finally given up and most certainly not the act of pure, unconditional love and devotion to his sibling that Ace displayed, covering his precious little brother with his worn body, protecting him and never once thinking of himself.

He sank to the floor slowly as dead silence followed.

His mind was slowly shattering. Ace..Ace was dead. Dead. DEAD!

The agonizing scream that ripped through Luffy's throat gnawed at his own heart and Sabo suddenly felt the room he was in, the people that were idly chatting, some yelling and some bickering. The walls were pressing on him. He could not take it anymore. He fled.

The evening found the boy near the shore, sitting on a rock and nearly clawing his hair out of his head. His eyes were bloodshot and the tear stains on his cheeks kept filling up with fresh liquid. The area around him could be called a war zone. Moulds of earth were piled up, rocks scattered here and there, obviously pieces of enormous boulders this shore was famous for, covered in blood.

Somewhere to his left lay an innocent metal pipe also adoring the red that came from his bruised and broken knuckles.

"Where was I when they needed me..I should have been there, I..maybe then Luffy wouldn't have been near death and ..and A..Ace..wouldn't have died! I should have been there, with you guys! Why, just why did I have that cursed mission?"

His voice was barely a whisper, cracked and hoarse from crying and most probably, screaming.

His shoulders shook. Sabo was losing himself to grief.

"Ace, Luffy…we wanted to become pirates together, remember? To sail the seas and meet one day, exchanging amazing stories of our adventures, free to do anything we wanted. It's impossible..now..with you gone, Ace. Luffy always said that I'm the better brother, b..but I didn't do anything while our innocent dumb little bro risked everything he had, maybe more to come get you! I'm the worst brother ever, if I can even be called that now…And you! You idiot! Why, why didn't you listen to Luffy for once? I told you long ago that your stupid pride will get you..killed!"

Furiously, he wiped the fresh round of tears with his sleeve.

"Child, we do not know what could have happened, but you being there, would it have changed anything?"

Sabo looked up. Dragon was sitting right in front of him, casually propped casually on the sand as if it was a routine thing to do every evening.

"Things happen for a reason, Sabo."

"I.."

"When you cool your head a bit and start thinking rationally and not with your heart, join us. There is much you should know about." With that he stood up and turned to walk back to the base. Before disappearing behind a tree, he added. "You have much to reveal to us as well. Take all the time you need, boy."

It took Sabo a few more days to come in terms with the death of his brother. His spirits rose when he found out Luffy was alive, as alive as he could be at least and three days later he found himself on a ship to Baltigo with his comrades, back to the main base and off to a new adventure, even if the retrospects of it weren't that bright for him at least.

Ace wouldn't have wanted him to fall into shadow. He'd have laughed it off and probably would have punched him for his behavior. And Sabo sure as hell didn't want his brother angry at him when he joined him wherever he was.

And Ace, Ace died protecting Luffy, their little brother. He disregarded his own dreams, the well being of the person who told him to live being the utmost important thing to him. Lu always _was_ the shining star in their lives. They would have never become brothers had Luffy not barged in their life, hell they would have never really found themselves, their reasons for living had it not been him and his blabby mouth.

Ace took care of him, now it was his job to watch over the troublesome guy and see his dream come true. He'd make both his and Ace's dreams come true.

The world was in for an uproar soon.

He'd meet Luffy someday in the near future, probably will get a kick or two in the stomach and lots of tears.

"He's probably still a crybaby, ne, Ace?"

He remembered their adventures as children with sad smile. His gaze fell upon a leather-bound book perched beside him.

"I'll see Luffy become the Pirate King, Ace. I'll see that your name and the Whitebeard Pirates will always be remembered and not as criminals, but as heroes, comrades and family anyone could wish for! And I'll definitely live to see the day the world government goes down and burns in ashes. Maybe then will I finish my story and read it out to you. Will you listen?"

The east wind playfully ruffled his hair and enveloped him in a hug. He took a deep, calming breath. Ace was not dead. He will always be alive in his memories, in his heart.

"I miss you, Ace. Watch over us. Me and Lu will see you one day and then, you'll be amazed at the tales he'll tell you, I promise!"

**Final:**

* * *

This was quite hard to write. Maybe it's cos I'm waiting for a believable reason why Sabo wasn't there from Oda. (i expect a flashback in the manga at the end of this arc lol).

Anyways, clarifications on the chap.

Sabo doesnt know that Luffy and Ace considered him dead. This will proooobably have a second chapter like thing, where Sabo and Luffy talk. but I'm not sure. I'm not good at writing those things :/

Other then that, to one of my reviewers who requested a scene where vivi calls and talks to the crew. I like this idea and might do it, no promises though. ;) but thanks for reviewing! they do make me happy.

Hope Dragon and Sabo were not too ooc here.

Hope you enjoyed, even if it was a bit...yeah.

Cheers minna.


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